I hate it, but this made me tear up. “My Dogs greeting me after returning from 14 months in Iraq”
Found at: Sullivan
This post is in: Dog Blogging
I hate it, but this made me tear up. “My Dogs greeting me after returning from 14 months in Iraq”
Found at: Sullivan
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[…] [h/t] […]
Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) (1994). Billie Joe Armstrong /friday night dog blogging/…
Via Balloon Juice, “My Dogs greeting me after returning from 14 months in Iraq. Green Day: Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go So make the best…
Sol
Same here. What a great thing to come back to. It’s a simple pleasure every veteran should get upon their return (replace dogs with buxom gals depending on your preferences)
Great quote I read here:
RML
I’m glad you came back safely. Dogs are so loving and forgiving of our time away from them.
bootlegger
That was very cool. And the soldier seemed as choked up as I got watching it.
Juan del Llano
Thank you for posting this.
I should be working instead of taking up valuable bandwidth on your blog, but I had the same reaction. What one feels when watching this is what’s waiting for us all on the other side of fear and stupidity, if we’d just let go and join the world at large.
It made me remember Lady the Wonder Dog, my white German shepherd who actually climbed trees and was the best dog in the whole damn world. Sometime back in the ’80s she got old and blind and could hardly move, for all the pain in her hips. One day she stood in front of me in the living room, wagging her tail, and shit a HUGE load right there on the carpet without even realizing it. I knew that was the end and took her to the vet. That afternoon I came home with a leash and an empty collar, one of the worst days of my life. I miss that animal more than words can say.
Xanthippas
Well, I hate to admit it but that made me a little teary too.
Sarcastro
If only the people who sent him away were as loyal, honorable and honest as dogs.
Maxwel
Wow! That almost made me agree to get a dog for my daughter. Almost.
Michael Demmons
Dogs don’t know where the hell you went. At least people do.
Brian
Dogs are great… fuck cats!
(I’m joking… I love cats and dogs… )
LarryB
Border collies!
greynoldsct00
I saw this over at Sully’s…made me tear up, sent it to my mom and same thing happened to her. A little bit of sweetness on a rough day.
That One - Cain
Best blog ever. One minute we’re raging against the man and his bush, and now we’re weepy over a vet returning to his dogs.
I haven’t watched the video, cuz I don’t want to cry at work.
cain
Michael Demmons
I sent it to my boss and told him what it was. He refuses to watch it at work for the same reason. Fortunately, I am working at home today.
Bodacious
OK, between the tiny tear I do believe I saw a Obama bandana around the pup’s neck!!!
HumboldtBlue
And you will, oh, you will.
That One - Cain
I shouldn’t be reading this thread especially if people are going to start telling ‘their dog passing away’ stories. The whole go to vet with dog and come back with an leash and collar gives me the heebee jeebies.
cain
gex
I bet he did have "the time of [his] life". Just not in a good way. So glad he made it back and had that greeting waiting for him. All our soldiers should be so lucky.
Surprised the guys on this blog are so upset that this made them tear up. This is as manly a situation to cry as any, except maybe your momma dying. This is a soldier coming home to his dogs. You’d have to have a dead, black heart to not be moved by this. It’s totally okay to tear up over this, and no, I don’t think that makes you gay. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
Michael Demmons
Cats don’t greet you like that!!
That One - Cain
I’m not sure I understand what you’re saying. None of us are upset about tearing up. It’s just not something I want to be doing at work is all or alternatively we don’t want to see something so heartbreaking or heart warming at this time.
This aint’ the 40s/50s.. we can cry now, it’s very liberating. :-)
cain
Laura W
Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.
It’s just WRONG to be watching Demon Failin on tee vee simultaneous with watching that.
My mascara’s on the laptop, thank you very much.
comrade scott
I have several who will disabuse anybody of that notion.
gex
@That One – Cain:
The post starts with "I hate it…" and another says "I hate to admit…" That’s what inspired my post. And then I sprinkled in some really lame attempts at humor to really muck it up.
I fully understand not wanting to cry at work. First and foremost it’s a dead giveaway that you’re reading non-work related blogs. Glad I’m working at home today.
Punchy
Or scientific data. Trust me.
That One - Cain
Yeah, crying is a bit inconvenient if you weren’t expecting to cry. I don’t think people themselves mind crying it’s just unexpected. :-)
But I get where you’re coming from.
edit: I read the first comment, above with "I hate.." yeah yeah.. you win :)
cain
ComradeJ. Michael Neal
After fourteen months, my cats would look at me and say, "Who the fuck are you?" Except Eddie. He’d run and hide under the bed, because a stranger came in.
Scrutinizer
@Punchy:
Yep. Just got through looking at three months worth of data. Mostly trash. Facedesk.
ThymeZone
Obviously you have never received email from my boss.
Jim Henley
A chilling look at an all-too-possible future. Do you realize that if we actually end the Iraq War, soldiers all over America will be subjected to this kind of trauma?
Laura W
@That One – Cain:
The only thing worse is going to the vet with cat and coming home with an empty carrier and a collar. (Of course, I’ve never lost a dog as my first, and possibly last, dog in my adult life is doing pretty well at nearly 11.)
fordpowers
Oh God. I totally cried my eyes out at that.
Thanks for that.
Anne Laurie
Yeah, I teared up thinking about the Late Great Figaro, a Maine Coon tuxedo who always "happened to be sauntering near the front door" when anybody came home. And sometimes, in our little four-level house, it took some truely frantic scrambling to reach the proper "sauntering" radius in the few seconds after he heard the car door slam and before we could unlock the front door, too!
Davebo
Epic
failsuccess Jim.But sadly it’s unlikely to happen anytime soon.
Scrutinizer
Nope. I’ve done both, more than once. It sucks, and it tears you in two, no matter which it is.
Thanks for the vid, Michael. Made me smile. I’m much too manly to tear up.
Davebo
And is there anything more hilarious than an excited dog on a hardwood floor?
Tip for BJ’ers, It’s hard for them to scratch up Brazilian Cherry floors. And they hate it when they are excited, but they love it when they are hot.
Stuck in the Funhouse
"I missed you" Dog Slobber. One of the sweetest substances found on earth.
Blue Raven
I am not tearing up at my desk, damn it. It’s allergies. I don’t care if it’s October and nothing’s blooming.
snif
Aw, hell, I can’t lie like Sarah Palin. She’s too good at it…
smiley
@ComradeJ. Michael Neal:
I disagree. My exwife came over to my house once (after more than 14 months) and the cats we both had at one time recognized her. If she had been a stranger, they would have hidden. I read a paper once about animal facial recognition. The conclusion was that they recognize themselves (cats look at themselves in the mirror) , their house-mate pets, and humans that they are familiar with. I wish I could remember where I read that.
товарищ Сидериал
It depends on the cat. We have one that — if we died — would probably just wander over to the neighbors house to see if they had any food instead. And we have one that bounds across the room and cheekrubs our calves to the bone if we’ve been out longer than an hour.
The Moar You Know
You are so wrong. I have been lucky enough to have had cats who were as loyal and expressive as any dog. About the only thing they don’t do that a dog will is pee on the floor when they see you because they’re so happy.
The cat will make you work for it, but once you get a cat on your side, you are set.
But this got me thinking that it would be nice to have a dog again. I wish I had the room for one.
Scrutinizer
@The Moar You Know:
No—but if they are like some of ours, they’ll pee in the bed if they’re mad at us.
wobbly
My father, WWII Army vet, loved to repeat the story of a Marine officer stranded on a conquered island in the Pacific.
He was the occupation guy, not the hit the beaches guy. There was, apparently, a local population that had to be attended to, and the Department of Defense had some great ideas about how to this.
Dogs to police them, and women to do the paperwork.
The reporters flooded the place, and the only thing he he could say to them was "First they send me dogs. Now they send me women."
smiley
@smiley:
I still might have read a paper but I can’t find the reference. Maybe I dreamed it. Still, it’s pretty obvious that animals recognize us and each other. There are some data looking at "facial recognition cells" in the inferotemporal cortex of monkeys.
Krista
Awww….that video was so sweet.
It reminded me of a passage in one of my fave childhood books, Rilla of Ingleside, by L.M. Montgomery. It’s set in WWI, and as a small subplot, this fellow’s dog waits for him at the train station for the entire duration of the war.
Tattoosydney
Awwww. I teared up as well, and went to pat my dog, Pedro, who immediately behaved just like the dogs in the video, even though he had only seen me five minutes before.
I love my dog.
That One - Cain
Dammit Krista… I got all misty eyed now… bah!
cain
Rob
Sending more money to IAVA and ASPCA immediate;y. Right now. Great video.
Jimbo
@It’s no less sweet when you realize they’ll greet him that way when he comes home from a quick errand, too « Notes from Evil Bender:
I thought the same thing! It’s a great moment, and it really cheered me up after a long week, but I have Golden Retrievers and I’ve known a fair share of Borders, they always react like that ;-)
Thanks for posting that Michael, it was a great little pick-me-up…
Comrade Mary, Would-Be Minion Of Bad Horse
Aw, damn it, Krista. I saw that coming and I’m still crying into my curry.
some guy
Perhaps inspired by this true story?
The Grand Panjandrum
Another 100 thousand + of these videos and I’ll be a happy camper. I’d watch each and everyone of them if it would get them home faster and/or safer.
Krista
Seeing as L.M. Montgomery wrote Rilla of Ingleside in 1921, it couldn’t have been based on the story of Hachi-Ko.
That is an incredibly sweet story, though. Oh, don’t get me started on dog stories. I’m obsessed with them — must be a result of watching way too much The Littlest Hobo as a kid.
liberatemeiexinfernis
Hide this video.
Else McCain and Mooselini will try to aerial hunt them down
Comrade Nikolita
@smiley:
One of my cats (a kitten still) doesn’t recognize himself in mirrors. I don’t know if he even sees himself, since he’ll always look at me in the mirror if I’m holding him in front of one.
My other cat once saw her reflection on the top of the washing machine, and she didn’t recognize that it was her. Her back arched a little and I don’t recall her hissing or anything, but she was definitely not cool with it.
And yes I got teary when watching the video too.
Phoebe
Oh Sweet Lard I hate that song, but it didn’t prevent me from bawling. I’m horrible.
ComradeJ. Michael Neal
I said that poorly. The three who aren’t Eddie would recognize me. They would also be too mad at me for being gone to demonstrate it. Dogs remember that you’re back; cats remember that you left.
Eddie has an excuse. I picked him up from a shelter after he got hit in the head with something, like a car or a baseball bat. He’s not very bright.
Tim
This is the internet. Please tell me how we know this was not a setup/fake little show.
The guy probably put on his Army surplus store costume, set the camera, went out onto the porch and came back in.
Also, glad to see you continue to glean content from your good buddy Andrew Bareback Warmonger Sullivan, John.
I thought your judgment had improved since your wingnut years. No?
SixStringFanatic
@Tim:
Hey look, everybody!! It’s an Asshole!! Haven’t seen many of those before, have we???
Comrade Kevin
@Tim:
You moron. Did you not even notice who posted this entry?
Laura W
@Tim: Jesus Fucking Christ, Dude. How cynical do you have to be to even think that some guy would go through all that posturing and posing to….. what? Make people cry? Touch their hearts? Get a hundred hits on youtube? or five stars? or whatever passes for popularity and power over there.
Do you think he, The Iraq Vet Fraud, is feeling all omnipotent and omniscient now, knowing how many people he faked out, leaving then with misty eyes and a lifted spirit for five seconds? What a rush for him, deceiving so many so easily.
I’ve read a lot of shit on this site in my few months here (all in the comment threads), and it always seems so misplaced and unnecessary in contrast to all the very smart people here, but you just hit the new high low bar.
Zuzu's Petals
@Tim:
Because y’know, nobody would think to videotape someone’s homecoming.
smiley
@Tim:
Being the cynic that I am, I thought the same thing. But you can’t fake the dogs’ excitement in seeing him. My guess is that after greeting his family at the airport, he came home, the dogs went nuts, and the family decided to have him come in again (with his gear either already in the house or still on the stoop),and record the dogs’ reactions. Still awesome.
Zuzu's Petals
I think the wife/family ran inside with the camera and then taped him as he came in the door. That doesn’t look like the second time around for those dogs – or for him.
bleh
At risk of being an asshole, like Tim I guess, just who filmed this? The guy walked in the door after 14 months in Iraq and the photographer was more interested in filming the dogs than greeting the soldier? Possible I guess but as an owner of a lab she pretty much greets me that way if I am away for the work day.
Not to say that the love of pets and owners aint real but tearing up over a guy coming home to his dogs? Would anyone give a shit if the guy was wearing a letter carriers uniform or a Walmart vest?
Paulie Chestnuts
It’s good, but it’s no Brian the Lion.
smiley
@Zuzu’s Petals:
OK. I have no problem with that. What difference does it make? The dogs love the man and the man loves the dog. I often worry that my elderly father would throw himself in front of a car to save his beloved hound. I love my cats, BTW.
Jess
All three cats I’ve had have greeted me ecstatically whenever I came home from work. The first would hide in the bushes and leap out like a tiger attacking prey as I came up the walk. The current one acts like the dog in the clip (except for the barking), standing on her hind legs to be picked up, and nuzzling and nipping my ears when I do so. Whenever she cruises by me, she always detours to rub against my leg, just to say hi on her way to wherever. My second kitty would gaze at me from across the room, and when I looked back, she would start purring like a motorboat. The night she died, she came and got me to say goodbye, and I cuddled her until she died in my arms. She was a true soul mate.
Dogs are great loyal friends, but IMHO a cat’s loyalty is even greater, because it’s not given lightly. You have to make more of an effort to earn it, and they have to make more of an effort to learn how to show it.
Nice video, though. That guy must be so happy.
cmorenc
A few weeks ago, I was stopped at a light behind a car that had one of those sort of wordy bumper stickers that at first glance, suggested some sanctimoniously religious message that prayed, proselytized, and scolded the reader all at once. And so, I almost didn’t read it, but it was a long light, and I’m glad I did. Bumper sticker of the year award!
smiley
@Jess: @Jess:
Well said. The last cat I had to put down definitely let me know it was time. He knew and he was right. It hurt a lot.
bleh
It’s real nice this guy got to go home and get and give so much love to his dogs. Too bad about the (who knows how many Iraqi dogs) that never got to greet their owners coming home. Those dogs that lived that is. He was/is a volunteer in an unprovoked war of aggression.
Doesn’t take anything away from his dogs, they are adorable, him however, not so much.
smiley
Jess wrote that, not me.
Jess
It really does. Took me three years before I was ready to adopt another kitty, and I still think of the other one with sadness and love. I’m glad she was able to exit naturally and reasonably easily, because when it came down to it, it was just too heartbreaking to have her put down. It felt too much like a betrayal, since she would always clutch onto me at the vet’s and bury her head under my arm like I would always protect her. I’m so grateful the vet assured me that it would be okay to let her go naturally and that she wasn’t in any pain. It would have been really tough to do the right thing if the case was otherwise.
You have all my heartfelt sympathy for your tough decision and loss.
Mr Furious
@Tim:
Yup. An inside job. Just like 9/11.
Angela
"this made me tear up"
Geez, you didn’t just cry outright? (I"m a girl.)
Thanks for sharing this. I have faith that my dog would respond in a similar fashion. I also have faith that none of the three cats would.
Tim
It’s cute how one is not allowed to ask questions here without being attacked by all of Balloon Juice’s loyal fanboys and girls.
I do apologize for not catching that it was other than John who posted the vid from Sully’s above-board site. John does likewise, so I assumed it was him.
I fail to see how in the internet age it is considered a fault to be extremely suspicious of anything and everything one sees on the web. People post fake shit all the time. Doesn’t mean it CAN’T be real, just means that bullshit is bullshit no matter from which side it comes. And yes, that is not the first time the guy came in the door, and I have absolutely no reason to automatically accept that he is a soldier fresh from Bush’s Iraq war. I don’t know who the fuck he is.
Furthermore, wouldn’t it be awesome if U.S. soldiers refused to fight in illegal wars of aggression and stayed home with their dogs instead? Now THAT would bring tears to MY eyes.
Angela
So I just got done lovin’ on my dog. Bailey is a German shepherd mix and she’s a very youthful 12. She gets invited to my friends’ parties — yes, she’s that awesome.
I had already decided that, once she’s gone, my next dog would be an older dog from the pound.
Instead, I’ll look into fostering a dog or two for an overseas soldier. Not every soldier has the luxury of a family member or friend to take his/her dog(s) for ’em. It’s the least I can do.
GDI. I was wearing eye liner.
Angela
Post #70: You can judge the soldier so easily?
Go fuck yourself.
Angela
Sorry, "bleh." You do not have to "go fuck yourself." Instead, you and Tim can go fuck each other. And not in a gay, loving way or hot porn kind of way. I mean, fuck each other in a prison-rape sort of way. Enjoy. If you’re lucky, someone will record it and post it online, and your supreme assholishness will be there for all to witness. Tell your mom I said "hi!"
Tim
Angela, you have serious anger issues, along with an interesting yen for violent gay sex.
Sign me up. I’ve always thought prison rape was kind of hot. Would you like to watch? You could take a break from your Bush War USO dog-watching duties and touch yourself. :P
Angela
No anger issues, just an Irish Temper and little tolerance for so many things.
FYI, I’m not pro-Bush anything. I’m Green Party.
But I do love gay porn. (Straight female, go figger.)
Liz
Saw that a couple days ago…86’d the song, wound up bawling my eyes out. Krista, you so didn’t help. :’) Sweet video…I hope he never gets dragged that far away from them ever again.
Mohamed
That was sweet. Thank you for sharing – makes one realize how fortunate we are.
I hate that these troops had to go to war and no one is accountable. Thousands of soldiers dead, thousands of innocent Iraqi civilians dead, and America’s reputation tarnished around the world.
Lesley
That’s what I call real support for the troops.
lovethebomb
I’ve had to leave 2 different cats behind for long periods. When I returned, they acted like someone had died. Sulking, mourning, ears batted down, crouching near the ground. Could barely look at me. Deep dark hurt suspicious eyes. They warmed up over a couple days and affection resumed. I would have thought it was singular to the first cat until it happened again with a different cat. Strange creatures. I suppose, though, this is how some humans might act if you left them without explanation and then returned a long time later.
harlana pepper
Yay, happy puppy kisses! Is he marriehd?
Bill Herbert
Not to quibble, but he’s an airman, not a soldier. This does not, of course, detract from the video, nor does it in anyway mitigate the need for bleh and Tim to get f**ed.
Sam H.
God, I’m such a sap. Cried like a baby.
neil
Dogs never fake enthusiasm. Only people do that.
This video is fantastic – it made my day. Thank you for cross-posting it.
Tim
Hey Bill, Fuck YOU.
So your "airman" is allegedly back from dropping ordinance on defenseless civilians. What a hero!
Randy
I am glad to see you came back, and I was particularly moved by how much you love those dogs. You can tell by the greeting not only that they missed you, but that they are extremely loved and treated as a part of the family.
Whoever states that dogs cannot think has never be friends with a pet.
As for the war, while we all agree we have been misled and that it should not be happening, we need to respect men like this that are over there doing their jobs, despite what the soldiers themselves may feel.
bleh
Randy – I’ll try to make it rational in what amounts to a pretty difficult emotional context. In fact it’s the emotional cheese that irks me the most in this video. The dogs don’t know if their owner was in Iraq or in prison for child molestation. Dogs do what dogs do and that’s why most of us find them adorable.
It’s the (somewhat understandable) reaction of getting choked up about it that is interesting. Even if we grant that everything is true in the video what people are doing is imputing to DOGS an understanding that the guy has had some kind of tough sledding, that he is lucky to be alive etc. My beef is that it is propaganda wittingly or not.
Now as to the war. I have no idea of course of this guys specific situation but if he enlisted or re-enlisted anytime after about early 2003 then no, I have no respect for him. He chose to participate in armed aggression and occupation of an innocent country. He is a (probably very minor but nonetheless) a war criminal. I suppose he could have enlisted or re-enlisted without knowing anything about the Iraq war but that only means he is a fantastically ignorant cog in the wheel, hardly a defence.
The only way you can "support the troops" or give them unconditional respect is if you deny their agency in deciding to participate. They (most of them after 5+ years) have had a choice. Their choice has been to perpetuate this thing and that does not deserve respect.
Bill Herbert
You are a sad little man, Tim — and I emphasize little.
Only a truly ignorant buffoon would look at the work "airman’ and automatically think "fighter pilot" or "bomb dropper." Having been there (for only 12 months), I can say he was doing any number of things, essentially helping an army which has been stretched to the breaking point provide services to an utterly broken country. Whatever his job, I’m sure he had to pull his share of convoy duty.
Also, it’s ordnance, dumbass.
Zuzu's Petals
@bleh:
Sorry bleh, I think you have it backwards. It’s about the human joy of being loved by an animal. Of course the dogs didn’t know where he was coming from, but he did. And so did the person behind the camera.
As to the rest of your comment, I echo the sentiments of the others on this thread.
bleh
Zuzu’s Petals
According to people way smarter than me dogs and other animals don’t experience "love" or other human emotions. Some of the higher apes approach what we think of as self awareness and human emotion type behavior but dogs, not so much.
I "love" my dog because I am capable of such behavior (and a sap) but she does not "love" me, she (if she could think at all) would probably consider me a God. Worship does not equal love.
F this F that, F me if you like, got anything substantial to say about the Iraq war, the military in general?